investingLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Powell speech

• Federal Reserve Chair Powell is speaking on Tuesday
• Bank of Canada Governor Macklem is speaking on Tuesday
• Japanese PM contender Koizumi says must be mindful of need for fiscal discipline … but
• Jamie Dimon: Tariffs modestly inflationary, a mild recession risk for U.S. economy
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY central rate at 7.1057 (vs. estimate at 7.1066)
• China tells brokerages to pause RWA tokenisation in Hong Kong amid asset frenzy
• ICYMI: Around 20% of international manufacturers have exited the U.S. in the past year.
• The new Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will be announced Wednesday NZ time
• Citadel warns S&P 500 enters historically weakest week, despite strong Monday rally
• Nomura upbeat on Japan equities into 2026, backs governance reforms. Is IT overweight.
• All three Australian preliminary PMIs declined in September.
• Germany’s tax revenues rise 2% in August, but ministry sees no quick economic rebound
• New Zealand to announce the new RBNZ governor as soon as Wednesday
• ICYMI – Goldman Sachs forecasts S&P 500 target as high as 7200
• Piper Sandler hikes Tesla target to $500, says its AI edge remains a differentiator
• Commerzbank: Dollar could weaken if Trump wins Supreme Court case to oust Fed’s Lisa Cook
• South Korea’s PPI has fallen for the first time in three months – no Tylenol for you!
• Agriculture-tech company switches to bitcoin mining, hopes to last many Scaramuccis
• investingLive Americas market news wrap: Fed officials stake out the hawkish ground

It was a subdued session in Asia as traders looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Tuesday U.S. time. Major FX pairs traded in narrow ranges. Powell, who oversaw last week’s 25bp Fed rate cut, is expected to signal further easing before year-end.

Regional news and data were light. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Chinese equities dipped.

In Japan, the leadership race to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba drew fresh comments from top contenders Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi.

• Takaichi, known for her support of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus, said extra tax revenues should be used to ease the rising cost of living, adding that bond issuance may be needed if necessary.
• Koizumi, by contrast, stressed fiscal discipline, arguing that new spending should be funded by higher revenues and cuts to wasteful outlays. “Sound fiscal policy rests on solid economic growth,” he said.
• The Liberal Democratic Party will hold its leadership ballot on October 4.

Asia-Pac
stocks:

Japan
(Nikkei 225) closed today

Hong
Kong (Hang Seng) -0.9%

Shanghai
Composite +0.5%

Australia
(S&P/ASX 200) -1%

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.